Chemical Romance
by Luchia13
Summary: The war's over (temporarily), and the boys are ordered to stay in their school. A prep school. That HATES them. Oh, no.
1. If You Ever Felt Rejected

A/N: First! This is in competition with a few other fics to see which I write. PLEASE go check those out, and tell me which you'd like me to do. Well, eventually I'll do all of 'em, but hey. Time's money, and all of 'em at the same time? (laughs) Not gonna happen.

SO! This ENTIRE thing is based on the music video for _I'm Not Okay (I Promise)_, by My Chemical Romance. Yup, the band's the title. Me? I'm just twisting it for my own fun, and subsequently yours, you lovely reader you. Hooray! And yes, I know this (ie the war ending via Treize reverting to childhood) would never happen, but hey.

Warnings: 1x2, 3x4, Angry G-boys, Snooty Prep School Students, Profanity, and (Funny) School Violence. OH! Major OOC for Treize, too, but he's only there for one scene, and he's insane, so I guess it doesn't really count. ONWARD!

x---x

Chemical Romance

Chapter 1-

If You Ever Felt Rejected

x---x

Treize smiled up at Lady Une. "I'm done," he proclaimed proudly, and the woman blinked quickly behind her glasses.

"Excuse me, sir," Une asked, not understanding the sudden outburst. "What do you mean, you're done?" Treize giggled, and Lady Une gaped as he pulled his legs up onto the chair.

"I'm done fighting," he exclaimed, and began to toy with his ginger locks, twirling them around his finger. "I wanna go home and eat chocolate!"

"Sir...are you feeling well," Une asked, and the twenty-four-year-old man nodded happily.

"Yep! I just wanna go home and eat chocolate. OOH! And ice cream! Can I have ice cream, too," Treize asked hopefully. Lady Une gulped.

"I...I guess so, sir...Would you like to announce this to the troops," she asked. What had happened to her commanding officer? Treize Khushrenada was a man of elegance and taste, the apex of nobility and refinement. So what was he doing toying with the pen on his desk, rolling it back and forth...back and forth... "Sir!" Treize jumped, tucking his hands behind his back.

"SORRY!" Une sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Are you capable of addressing OZ," she pleaded. Treize shook his head hurriedly. "Very well." She pushed a button, and began speaking. "To my fellow believers in OZ: return home to your families. Our leader has fallen into a temporary...distressed situation. As soon as this is rectified, we'll take up arms once more. Thank you for your support. The war is over...for now." She cut it off, and Treize clapped for her exuberantly. "Thank you, sir."

"You used such big words! Rec...rect..."

"Rectified."

"Yeah! I want ice cream!" Lady Une sighed. She prayed for the world that this was only a temporary- VERY temporary- condition.

x---x

Duo was pissed.

It was their fourth day of school, and still the brats had yet to warm up to him. HIM! Loveable, bouncy Duo! They all just sneered when he came by. Duo snorted. He'd gotten even HEERO to like him, but _nooo_. These annoying upper crust New York students were too busy feeling superior to give them a chance.

Compared to Quatre, he was rather well off. The blonde-haired Arabian was only surviving from Trowa and the other boys' constant attention. As the shortest one of them, not to mention openly cuddly with the taller pilot, he had already been shoved into two lockers.

Trowa was already in detention for nearly pummeling the kid who did it. Quatre had held him back, and the Heavyarms pilot was NOT in a friendly mood. The normally calm boy was livid whenever anyone dared to shove his love.

The second time the blonde was shoved into an open locker, Wufei had quite literally had the boy shaking in his boots when he pulled his sword out. Quatre yet again had come to his rescuer's side and stopped them.

That made Duo wonder. Why did they even bother to push Quatre into the locker, when any mammal with opposable thumbs could get out in two seconds flat?

Anyway, Wufei was right along with Trowa in detention.

Remarkably, Heero and Duo had remained unscathed. Regularly they got in trouble. Now the student body settled on ignoring the two, who had every single class together, after a few seconds of laptop jockeying. The five had almost every class with another pilot; OZ had nearly caught on at the last school, and the Gundam Pilots were taking no chances this time.

Heero had made PE his primary objective. To seem as inconspicuous as possible, all five were in the same exact Croquet class.

Duo chuckled. Croquet. He was almost excited to play it with the others, just to see their reactions when he walloped them. The braided boy smirked. He was a man of many talents.

"Hey Hee-chan, I'm bored," Duo whined, and the other boy, in the blue blazer and tie demanded of Prissy Prep School, Hell USA, glared. It was lunch, and the remaining three sat outside on white concrete, hopefully far enough away from the rest of the student body to be ignored.

They weren't scared. They were just...careful. No, really.

"Annoy Quatre," Heero grumbled, and Duo smirked.

"Aww, but I did that in Psych! Nah, he's still emotionally disturbed," Duo explained. "Obviously, I need fresh meat." Heero looked up from his rice.

"I'm not meat," he stated coldly, glaring a painful demise his friend's way. The braided boy shrugged, biting into his pizza. Quatre still couldn't help but gape as it went down in one move.

"Is that healthy," the blonde asked, and Duo grinned.

"Probably not. But hey, I figure if I go down, it probably won't be from a clogged artery," he said cheerily. Quatre frowned.

"You should still take care of your body. It'll help you in the-"

"Long-run? What long-run? Live for today, Quat! Eat the pizza," Duo yelled out, and Quatre blushed as the few students outside stared at them disdainfully. "Damn preppy brats. Wouldn't know a-" He was cut off when a full can of coke flew at his head, and he caught it easily.

"QUEER!" Duo rolled his eyes. What an pathetic, uninspired insult.

"01?"

"02."

"Permission to inflict a non-lethal wound," Duo asked hopefully, and although Heero smirked, he shook his head.

"Denied. We're supposed to be normal," he stated. Duo sighed, scratching his head.

"Can I at least chuck the can back and whack the jerk in the head," he pleaded. Heero, indifferent, shrugged. "ALRIGHT!!!" The can went sailing into the air. "Bombs away, bastards!" The aluminum projectile slammed straight into the blonde's forehead, knocking him backwards and into the nearby dumpster. "BWAHAHAHAH!"

"Duo, I wish you wouldn't do that," Quatre frowned, and Duo rolled his violet eyes.

"Come on, Q! If you don't fight back, they're just gonna keep shoving you into lockers," Duo said, and Quatre smiled.

"I find that sometimes, if you don't do anything, it'll stop," he said honestly, and Duo shrugged.

"Well, it's your choice. Just know if I'm present, they're getting whacked," the braided boy said, and Quatre nodded absentmindedly. "Hey, Heero! How long till the Mads get us out of this hell-hole?"

"Two more days," Heero said, back on his laptop. Duo slumped down to the ground, sighing.

"I'd rather blow up the school than spend two more days here," he grumbled, and Quatre laughed.

"Duo, you'd blow it up anyway," he said, and Duo grinned. Oh, yes he would. They settled back into a comfortable silence, listening to Heero type...Duo frowned.

Why wasn't Heero typing?

His eyes fell onto the Perfect Soldier, gaping at the screen. That in itself was enough to get Duo to his feet, gun in hand almost instantly, searching the ground. Quatre wasn't far behind. They both scrammed for cover, Duo dragging Heero with him towards a nearby grove of trees. Still, he stared open-mouthed at the screen.

"Status, 01," Duo snapped, and Heero slowly turned towards the braided boy.

"It...it's over," he whispered, and Duo screwed his eyes up.

"Eh? Care to run that by me again, buddy," he asked, and Heero shoved the laptop's screen in front of Duo's face. Deathscythe's pilot's mouth fell.

"HOLY SHIT," he yelled, backing up into a tree, violet eyes huge. He began sputtering, trying to speak. In the end, Quatre ended up fainting, leaving Heero and Duo, one panting and the other in shock, staring at each other.

"What do we do now," Duo finally managed to ask, and Heero frowned.

"J sent one last mission. The peace is only temporary. We're to wait," the Perfect Soldier let a frown slip through. "We're to wait here." Duo sighed.

"Shit," he said, and fell to the ground, braid trailing after him. "This just gets better and better."

x---x

A/N: So. That's the basic plot. Can they last in the school? Or will Duo really blow it up? Hmmm...Well. I'm tired. Thanks for reading my lil' story. It'll be much better, I promise. This was actually the prologue, but with the non-prologuing system, it didn't work out too well.

Thanks for reading! Please review, and tell me if I should continue this.


	2. If You Ever Felt Lost

A/N: Woohoo! Second chapter! I felt like writing this before the final chapter of SOS, so...tadaa! And no...not exactly updated quickly...oops. And, before you wonder, the world doesn't know the war's over (temporarily) yet.

Warnings: Found first chapter. Go read them! GO, I say! (And yes, this will be 1x2(x1). It just hasn't happened yet.)

x---x

Chemical Romance

Chapter 2

If You Ever Felt Lost

x---x

That night, the five pilots met in Duo and Heero's room, all somber. Heero, as the unofficial leader solely by numerical rank, took the role of chairman uneasily.

"The war's temporarily over, and we have to stay here. There's no room for changing our orders, unless disobeying a direct command," he began. "Duo?" Duo nodded, taking the floor.

"We all hate this school, and I ain't about to sit around and watch Q get beat up again," Duo snapped. "I say screw the scientists and get the heck out of dodge, but then we're 'treasonous'." He made little quotation marks in the air, rolling his eyes at the same time. "I mean, just for SAFETY, we oughta find a good safe house and sit for however long it takes for Treize to go back to war." Heero shook his head.

"Unacceptable. We've been ordered to stay in St. Francis," he stated. Duo rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, and we were also ordered to act like normal kids, too. Oops," he retorted. "Hell, I got nowhere else to go, but think of Tro and Quat! They've got mansions and sisters." Wufei nodded.

"I don't have anywhere to go, either. Trowa and Quatre should be allowed to leave, at least," he reaffirmed. "Two pilots going home isn't treason."

"I'm staying," Quatre said, sitting in Trowa's lap with the slightly older boy holding him close. "If that's our orders, they most likely have a good reason for it. OZ is probably still watching for us." Trowa nodded, and Duo sighed.

"So, what? We sit around and play prep?" he grimaced. "That doesn't sound like what I wanted to do when peace came around. Then again, I'd never really thought about what to do after the war. How long's temporary, anyway?" Quatre shrugged.

"We stay, but we stay comfortably," Wufei finally said. "I'm not pretending to be normal. If someone tries to hurt Quatre again, we stop it." Heero nodded.

"Security is important. Quatre will have at least one pilot with him at all times," Heero stated, and the others nodded, although the blonde didn't seem very pleased with the arrangement. "If threatened, use force. No casualties."

"So...guess this means I'll actually have to do my homework. Damn," Duo frowned; the meeting was clearly done.

x---x

Duo sighed. "I never thought a teacher could be this stupid," he grumbled, slamming his head down onto the desk as Heero "hn"ed in agreement. They'd been tortured by the purity of Juliet's love for almost an hour now. The idiot stopped his lecture as soon as the braided boy's head hit his books.

"Do you have a problem with my lecture then, Mr. Maxwell, or did you miss out on the past year of sleep," he asked snidely, and Duo's violet eyes glinted dangerously when he looked back up.

"Yep," he grumbled. Sleep depravation: another bonus of his job. The teacher blinked at him.

"So, pray tell, what's your philosophy on Romeo and Juliet? Love or lust," he asked. Duo shrugged.

"Both. I mean, Romeo starts out a horny little bastard. First thing you do when you meet a new girl's check her out," Duo explained. "But, then he got to know her, and poof. Lust to love." The teacher's snide look didn't go away, and Heero could tell the man was about to do something dirty. Intellectuals never liked to be upstaged.

"And what is love, Mr. Maxwell, since you seem to have all the answers," he asked spitefully, and Duo gaped. Finally, the boy glared at the teacher.

"Like you know, either?! You just PMSing, or did someone stick a tree up your ass," Duo snapped. The class gasped, and the teacher took a step forward.

"Mr. Maxwell! How dare you insult me!" Duo waved him off.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." By now, Duo looked completely disinterested. "Teach, already." Now, the man was turning purple, but before he could say anything, the bell rang. "Thank the lord," Duo whispered, so low even Heero could barely hear him.

In the time they'd known each other, Heero had come to realize his best friend only spoke religiously oriented comments in extremely stressful situations. As their day-to-day activities usually involved some life-threatening event or another, Duo wasn't easily flustered, but apparently the teacher had managed to do it. Heero couldn't help but be concerned; had a rhetorical question really bothered him that much?

"You okay," Heero asked as they walked out of the classroom, and violet eyes immediately snapped up to his blue. Duo grinned.

"Yeah. Just kinda pissed about all this school shit," he shrugged. Heero let him talk. "I don't like all these rich kids. I mean, Quat's okay because he's one of us, but these kids...they don't know shit about the world, and their teachers don't know anything either! It's like swimming in a sea of ignorance!" Heero smirked.

"Deep." Duo playfully whacked him on the arm, still smiling.

"Oooh, hey, we have chemistry now!" He began to chuckle madly. "Heh heh heh...you'd better be my lab partner. I need someone who won't go throwing my recipe awry." The blue-eyed boy quirked an eyebrow up. "Oh, don't worry! It'd just blow us up." Heero's smirk returned.

"Hn."

"Which translates to, 'ooh, goody! I'm so excited!'. Glad to see you're so happy," Duo chuckled. Heero smirked once more.

"Hn."

x---x

The game was absurdly boring, and they had front row seats.

At a suggestion from Quatre to make them seem more 'normal', they were at the home soccer game. Wufei couldn't have been more bored; the players would run up the field, then down the field, kicking the same stupid ball, trying to get it in a net guarded by one measly boy in a frilly-colored shirt. There was no honor in that. The stupid goalie ought to have stayed off the field and saved some of his dignity.

Even Duo seemed to be bored with the game, not even joining in the "Go beavers go!" chant. Then again, Duo hadn't been in a very good mood since their meeting.

The crowd stood in excitement for the ball (once again) passing the frivolous goalie's pathetic attempt and made it into the net, screaming and waving their hands ecstatically. The five boys were the only ones still sitting.

"Huh? What happened," Quatre looked around. Trowa shrugged, his arm around the blonde's shoulders.

Bernard the Beaver singled them out, bounding towards them easily since they were right in front. Wufei was insulted just by the thing's hideously exaggerated face.

"Vvvv vi veeee." The mascot spoke by blowing air between its teeth. Yet another affront to the Chinese pilot. Bernard quickly singled Duo out, pulling him on the arm. "Vvvvvv!" Duo slapped the idiot's hand away.

"Off, chubby," he grumbled. He was sitting on the end, because only Heero had the guts to sit next to the pissed-off Shinigami. The beaver put his hands in front of his fake eyes, then pulled them away, playing a game of peek-a-boo. When Duo didn't play along, Bernard the Beaver pouted.

"VVVVvvvvVVVIeeee," he whimpered, and began to tug on Duo's arm again.

"Back OFF," Duo snapped, slapping the arm away again.

"VVV." Bernard tugged on his arm insistently. Duo's face hardened, his eyes glinting devilishly.

"Alright," he grinned, stood up, and punched the side of Bernard's fluffy top so hard the mask spun around the man's head as he fell down onto the grass below. He smirked at the other pilots. "I'm out." With that, he walked off, the hushed crowd gaping at his exit. Quatre sighed.

"This was a bad idea," he murmured, and Trowa gave him a quick, reassuring kiss on the forehead. Heero stood up.

"I'll go after him," he stated, and walked off the way Duo had run, just as someone threw a shoe at the remaining pilots with another uninspired and common insult. Of course, Quatre caught it, and just let it drop to the ground below the metal bleachers.

"We should go," he sighed, and the three walked back to their dorm rooms, the angry cries of the crowd following them back to the building.

x---x

A/N: Okay, for clarification, we're gonna have a couple more chapters of Pilot Torture, and then VERY Good Revenge, and in the middle of all that there's going to be blossoming, sweet, fluffy 1x2 goodness. Poor Wufei...I never give him a good pairing...

READER RESPONSES:

Mistress Koishii: Hi!!! I'm so glad you're excited! Yeah...Treize was in only that one scene, so no worries 'bout that. This is purely pilot goodness.

ZmajGoddess: I'm so glad you like it! AND my humor! Yay. Thanks for reading!

Rekkaboziegirl: Why am I so mean to Quatre? Well, the school's a stupid, shitty, preppy school where they can't get over who you kiss. And besides, there will be MUCH ass-kicking. No worries.

DK-Adeena: Oooh! Lots and lots of pranks. Lots of good, fun pranks. It'll be good and...fun...

Lost-Remembrance: Glad you like it. Thanks for reviewing!

Miaka Kennyuuki: I'm doing both of them! Prodigy and Chemical Romance will be my new pets after SOS is done.

Anime goddess: I'm glad you like it. And there's no problem with obsession! It's what makes the world (or mine, at least) go 'round! I always write another chapter, BTW. It may just take some time...(looks at many much-neglected stories, which this won't be in a bit).

Chix0r neko: Hmm...let's see if I spelled your name right...I'm glad you like it. Thanks for reading and reviwing!

THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! (It makes me write more, and faster.)


	3. If You Ever Felt Wronged

A/N: And it's Chapter 3! Wow…that's a bit surprising, ne? Yeah, only been a LITTLE while…heh. Sorry. But it's here now! See? SEE!

Now, Duo may seem like an idiot in the Disney conversation, but HE'S NOT. On a colony, mice are NOT something endearing. They're vermin, or as Duo used to occasionally call them, "dinner". Not cute. So, obviously, the Disney Empire kind of died out on L2.

And…if curious, look up flower meanings to see all the things that made me cackle with glee while writing the walking scene.

Warnings: Much Dialogue. More Pilot Abuse (but last chapter for that!), said Disney-ness, and a Devious Duo.

xx

Chemical Romance

Chapter 3

If You Ever Felt Wronged

xx

When Heero finally found his best friend, he wasn't even sure if Duo was alive.

He sat with his shoulders slumped forward, head staring at the wood floor of the gazebo, and feet shoulder width apart. His silhouette made a downtrodden a-frame against the wrought iron bench, braid hanging lifelessly from his shoulder.

"Hey, Heero," Duo muttered, a bite to his words. "You ever wanna just stomp on everyone here?"

Heero couldn't help but smirk. "Who wouldn't?" Duo's slim profile chuckled, and he stretched out, leaving room on the bench for Heero.

"So you here to cheer me up, or just pull me back to the room," he sighed, rolling out the crick in his neck as he kept an eye on Heero's conservative form dropping down next to him.

"I'm here to be here," he said, surprisingly concerned. "You okay?"

A smile blinked into existence. "Sure. I'm just trying to keep myself from killing civilians right now is all," Duo grinned, immediately back to the happy-go-lucky version that always took over in a school. He chuckled. "And they think WE'RE insane. Why the hell would you use a beaver-covered human to cheer someone up?"

Heero nodded. "They're supposedly endearing."

Duo snorted. "Oh, right. Vermin in pants. How adorable." He stood up, finally back to the usual Duo Maxwell. "Who comes up with this stuff?"

Heero followed suit, and the two began the garden walk towards the dorms. "Walt Disney, apparently."

Daffodils and tulips lined the darkening gravel path they walked along companionably, side by side. Duo frowned. "Disney? What kind of a name is that?"

"American."

"…You're joking."

Heero smirked, and shook his head. Duo couldn't help but notice how close to a smile that was now. In fact…_was_ it a smile?

"Damn. And I thought 'Khushrenada' was a weird name."

Their banter continued while they passed through the remaining gardens, daffodils and the many tulips quickly becoming sprinkled with primroses- a bizarre combination in any garden. They blanketed the ground, dusk-lit trees protecting the fragile plants.

They didn't even notice the stares couples were giving both them and their conversation, dangerously involved with each other. "There is NO way a mouse in pants could be a national icon, Heero. The thing'd be dead in a year at the least!"

"It was a cartoon, Duo."

"…Why the hell would someone DRAW that?"

Or, at least they didn't notice anyone else until a human wall of lacrosse players seemed to spring up from the linoleum in the hall to their dorm. Each player was at least half a foot taller than they were, looming over the fifteen-year-olds with full sneer in place and arms crossed.

"...Heero?" They both knew the question. It was pretty obvious with an angry mob of testosterone glaring down at you and cracking its knuckles.

Duo blinked. Heero didn't even do that.

"…Denied. They're civilians."

Duo winced, getting ready to half-assed fight his way through just as Heero did the same. This was gonna hurt.

xx

"All those in favor of declaring war on the school, raise their hand," Heero bit out, mostly because every time he spoke his lip split open again.

The dorm room's bloody silence lingered for only a moment. Five hands were flung up into the air in record time.

"No more playing normal. They try to get us, we get them first," Duo snapped, his face an equally bloody mess. Unlike soldiers, students couldn't be killed without drastic consequences, and he'd had an equally hard time biting back on his attacks. In the process, he'd ended up bloody, bruised, and with a possible concussion from getting his head rammed into a door. A very hard door.

Wufei hadn't stopped glaring since the two had come back, and continuously fussed over the two in his own way, which mostly involved yelling at them to fight back and not injure themselves further. He was surprisingly protective of the four, forcing them into the safe thing without them even realizing it.

"I don't like having to patch one of you up every ten minutes," he snapped.

Duo nodded. "Screw the orders. We should just leave."

Heero shook his head, right along with the unhappy couple. "Our orders are to stay in attendance."

The air seemed to sigh.

"…They said 'stay here', not 'be normal'," Trowa said.

The epiphany broke on them like a watermelon on a mallet.

"Heero, read the exact orders," Quatre said quickly, and Heero quickly complied.

" 'Conflict over indefinitely. Maintain position until further contact.'"

"Well, that's open-ended," Quatre beamed. "All we have to do is stay. We don't have to avoid civilian casualties or anything."

"The only thing we have to do is stay in St. Brutus'. It doesn't say we have to go to class," Trowa nodded, a small smile growing. "It'd be interesting to be a live-in gardener." Quatre whacked his arm playfully.

"We should still attend classes," Heero shook his head.

"Awww, come on, buddy. Live a little."

Wufei frowned. "Yuy has a point. Duo needs to stay in school."

"What do you mean, 'Duo needs to stay in school'?" Duo glared at the cool Chinese boy sitting across from him, brandishing a pillow. "Why do I have to stay while Trowa can go be a janitor?"

"Gardener."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

Heero glared at the room. "We all stay enrolled. No exceptions. It's implied in our orders."

A dangerous smile lit Duo's face. "Alright then. But I've got a challenge for you two then."

The four frowned. Quatre tilted his head to the side. "Which two?" Duo motioned lazily over to Heero and Wufei.

"The superiority complex over there."

"Oh! Okay then." Quatre smiled at the three and quickly struck up a conversation with his boyfriend. "So, what do you think we should do now?"

Trowa shrugged. "Whatever we want."

"I don't have a superiority complex." Wufei's glare just slid off of Duo.

"Well, that's what we'll see, now isn't it? My challenge is simple," his grin was near feral. "Whoever can keep their grade in EVERY class closest to a…" Duo looked up at the ceiling, and chuckled. "Let's say a 52.1 percent."

Heero frowned. "You want us to intentionally fail."

"Think of it as a strategically earned grade that just happens to be on the lower side of the spectrum." Those innocent-looking purple eyes were suddenly devilish again. "Or are you not playing?"

Heero shook his head. "I'm in."

Duo grinned, and his eyes flicked over to Wufei, who, glaring, nodded curtly.

"ALRIGHT THEN!" Everyone jumped a little at Duo's sudden outburst of dark chuckles…well, except for Heero, who was frowning at the wall in all his bruised and battered glory trying to figure out the best way to get a 52.1 percent in every class. "Oh man, this is gonna be fun…"

Wufei snorted. "Like you're going to be able to do it, Maxwell."

All he got was a grin.

xx

A/N: I had to stop before I gave into temptation and did something…very bad. Then again…oh yes. I might have to go write a one-shot. Off to do so!

READER RESPONSES! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

ZmajGoddess: Poor, poor Duo. But look! He's happy again! Thanks for reviewing and, you know, sticking with me for oh so long.

Miaka Kennyuuki: Ah, I love Prodigy, and this. Poor neglected CR. (pets the fic) It'll be well-loved again now, though. Thanks for reviewing so very long ago!

Le Petit Chaperon Rouge: Look! I finally continued!

Regina: YOU'RE ALIVE! OH YAY! You were in a CAR ACCIDENT! (checks you over for injuries) Dear lord, you poor thing. And you're back! YAY! As long as you come back I'm just fine with extended absences…well I worry, but other than that yeah.

Avel: Aren't they good? I love My Chemical Romance. And the updating…I apologise. Sorry.

Akennea: I updated! Yay! It just took a bit longer. Heh. Thanks for reviewing!

Duo-23: Mascots have ALWAYS annoyed me. I loved writing that…

Duo Maxwell-Chang: Hmm…you know, I always do like a good 1x2x5…We'll see, perhaps. I always end up lumping those three together anyway. I just love their dynamic thingy. And the beaver? Umm…not really saying anything other than making annoying mascot-y sounds.

Sapphire Dragons: …Heh. Oops. Thanks for reviewing though! And your smiley is adorable.

Mistress Koishii/ Kushielle: I updated ANOTHER fic! (happydances) Go me! I'm so proud of myself.

ms trick: Thank you! Sorry about my updating time too. It'll be better next time, promise.

White Raven6: Always happy to make someone laugh. Thanks for reviewing!

Me: Thanks!

Ravel queen: Oh, the revenge is next chapter, even though the torture IS fun…And the 1x2 is coming! No worries!

Shikyo-no-megami: Awww, thanks! Look! I updated!

THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. If You Ever Felt Curious

A/N: I completely made up the little inside jokes. I don't think there ever was a duchess with pastries, but let's face it, this ain't exactly an accurate, deep, meaningful fic now is it?

Oh, and, uh, this chapter's a little different because I've been writing papers and essay finals for a while, so it's more…verbose.

x---x

Chemical Romance

Chapter 4

If You Ever Felt Curious

x---x

The teacher cleared his throat in a thoroughly aristocratic yet bored way as the three boys in the back prepared to succeed in failing. He licked a thumb and counted down the row, his voice a droll lull.

"Now, I want you-" he slapped the stack of papers carelessly on the front desk. "-to answer to the best of your ability." Again, the thumb was licked, as if it had turned into pumice within the thirteen second interval. "A quarter of a point will be deducted for each incorrectly answered question-" _slap! _"-and you will receive no credit for skipped questions." He moved onto the third row, licking his thumb one last time. "If there are any questions during the test, do not-" _slap!_ "-approach my desk. Your test will be void." He surveyed the room's uniformed students. "Any questions right now?"

The loathed and feared hand of Duo Maxwell shot up in the air. "Do we get any sort of extra credit at all in this class?" Of course he hadn't waited to be called on. Nooo, Mr. Maxwell's beloved son was just too good for that. He was going to choke on the snooty brats one of these days.

"No, Mr. Maxwell." The braided boy nodded and began to twiddle his pencil around in the air until Yuy- bless his soul- grabbed it, broke it in half, and set it back in Duo's hand, grumbling something incomprehensible under his breath. "Any other questions?"

Again, Maxwell's hand. "Can I borrow a pencil? Mine had an accident."

A low, reproving chuckle swept the room.

Rolling his eyes, the teacher passed back a good-old-fashioned No. 2 pencil.

"Very well then. Everyone ready?" Nervous nods. "And start." The papers flipped open and the students bent their brains to the task while the teacher, bemoaning his poor decision to become a teacher, sat back in his desk and read the papers they'd turned in not five minutes ago.

Barton, Trowa. 96 percent on an intriguing viewpoint essay in animal cruelty. He'd missed a 100 by simply getting some facts incorrect about the real way circuses ran.

Chang, Wufei. 0 percent. The fool had surprised every teacher in the school and not turned it in.

Maxwell, Duo. 52 percent for an elementary essay on a surprisingly intellectual topic of plague control in colonies. The idea was well thought out, but the boy wrote about as well as an uneducated log.

Winner, Quatre. 100 percent on a seemingly simple essay about the philosophical conflict between pacifism and a working government, and how the two could never truly mesh. A brilliant piece.

Yuy, Heero. 2 percent. He'd turned in a title page- just enough to get him ten points.

Of course, there were other kids in the class, but these five were the ones who'd taken up the back rows. Or, in Teacher Speak, were the ones who were either shy (like Winner, for all he could tell) or stupid (like Maxwell, apparently). Barton he assumed was shy, and in fact he'd assumed all but Maxwell were in that category. But, time would tell. He leaned further back into his chair. Oh yes, time would tell.

x---x

"I'm ready to ditch," Duo grumbled during their off period, sprawled in the grass and tossing a ball up and down in the air. He caught it one last time and swung himself upright. "Anyone wanna come?"

"To do what?" Heero asked from his lunch. Trowa was asleep against the tree nearby, showing a trust in them that was not about to be betrayed, regardless of their wanderlust. As Wufei and Quatre were inside finishing a game of chess, the task of guarding their compatriot from the homophobic student body fell to the first and second pilots.

Duo shrugged, doing another quick look-around to see any more flying projectiles. "I don't know. Anything but go to class. Besides, I've already gotta go down from my 72 in math. What better way than a zero for attendance?"

The competitive side of him rising up, Heero nodded pensively. "That's a good point."

Sensing his friend was weakening, Duo plowed further in. "Plus the chess match has to be almost done, and Trowa's gonna wake back up when the bell rings in two minutes. Then he can go sleep in a bed, and we could go ditch."

Heero nodded again. "And do what?"

Purple eyes rolled. "Hell, I don't know. Something fun. Something normal teenagers do."

He blinked. "I don't know what that is."

Duo chuckled. "Me neither, buddy." He stretched. "So, what do YOU think's fun?"

A silent smirk formed on his lips. "I did enjoy a run against L1-9668."

The braided boy broke out into hysterics. "Oh man, Heero, you gotta write some of that shit down. Remember that one time we were in Belgium? With the duchess and she just kept screaming, 'Not the pastries! Oh god, not the pastries!'"

Heero snorted. "I distinctly remember Deathscythe going in reverse to stomp on the bakery again, too."

"HA! How could I resist? Besides, it was already destroyed anyway."

"From the first time you stomped on it."

He sighed wistfully. "Ahhh, those were the good old days. Just me, my best buddies, and the stars."

Heero nodded and suddenly stilled. "I miss that."

The other boy just nodded, caught in reminiscing. "Yeah, me too." Duo grinned. "Or there was that one time in the French school…"

"Or Bolivia."

"Or the MULTIPLE Japan establishments."

Duo shook his head. "Man, why the hell did the scientists put us in a boring place like this school?"

Heero frowned. "It's America."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Duo waved off the thought of his rather random patriotism. "I've just never had an extended stay on-world, you know? And now we're up to…well, however long it's been, it's been…uh, long."

"Hn."

"Oh, no need to get so emphatic there, Hee-chan."

"Don't c-"

The bell clanged their brains to rattles, and Trowa's eyes jerked open. Duo waved at him, standing from his own seat and brushing the grass off his pants. "Hey, Tro. We're ditching."

Trowa just nodded. "Try not to get caught."

Duo's grin was almost feral. "Who, us? Not a chance. I'm Mr. Sneaky, after all."

A small smile was all he got in return, and Trowa was soon striding up to the school. Duo frowned. "He doesn't seem too happy."

"It's Trowa," Heero stated. "He never seems happy." He stood up, ignoring the grass on his pants as he tossed his garbage in the trashcan. Heero looked at Duo expectantly.

And, of course, Duo didn't disappoint. His usual grin in place, he led the way to the seven-foot brick wall that surrounded the school. With a simple shrug they hopped over it, Duo chatting all the while. "You know, we could probably go see how the gundams are doing."

"No, we might be on surveillance," he said, shaking his head as they walked through the forest. "What do normal teenagers do?"

Duo snorted. "Heero, buddy, I don't think either of us can really say." He chuckled. "Hell, I'm just glad to have gotten out of there. I think I'm allergic to idiots."

x---x

The knight took another move, and Wufei cursed. Quatre smiled.

"Checkmate."

"I know it's checkmate," Wufei growled, and his king toppled over. "Your pawn should never have gotten that far without-"

The door opened, and immediately their conversation shut off as Trowa entered, looking surprisingly downtrodden. Immediately Quatre was on his feet and giving his lover a bear hug, which Trowa reciprocated with the same silly half-smile he always got when the blonde was in his arms. "What's wrong, Trowa?"

"Heero and Duo are ditching," he stated, letting go to lie down on the bed.

Wufei glanced from Trowa to Quatre, missing the subtext of the statement. Quatre, ever observant, clarified. "They're ditching _together_."

Wufei rolled his eyes. "So what else is new? Duo's the only human Heero can stand for more than two hours."

"And you never wondered why that is?" Trowa added.

Finally, it hit him. He shot up from his chair. "Neither of them knows, either." A smirk began to form. "And both of them are interested, too."

Quatre's head tilted to the side, mind analyzing their friend's relationships. "How do you know Duo's interested? He's friendly to almost everyone."

Wufei's smirk was full-face now. "Remember the mascot?"

"And the English teacher," Quatre observed.

Trowa nodded. "So we set them up."

Quatre sat back down. "Or we don't." Wufei nodded and righted his king as Quatre continued. "We manipulate them into position, and let nature take over. They're already attracted, they just need to figure it out."

"And you think they won't kill us for this?" Trowa's blatant logic tore through their plan.

But, Quatre was right there, smiling. "Think of it as an experiment. A…chemistry experiment. So, to make sure it doesn't blow up in our faces, we have to carefully manipulate the elements so they react to one another as we want them to. And they want to react anyway." He leaned towards his lover. "Besides, aren't you the least bit curious?"

Trowa just looked straight at him. "To see how they kill us?"

Wufei snorted, but Quatre continued on. "Please, Trowa. Just help us…It is us, isn't it?" He paused to glance over at Wufei, who nodded, and then continued, smiling. "Just help us."

The brunette rolled his eyes and nodded, eyes closing. "Just remember I warned you." Trowa fell asleep to the sounds of plotting pilots.

**x---x**

A/N: Well, I've been gone a while, haven't I? Heh. At least I showed up eventually, right?

…right?

Bueller?

Anyway, blame it on The Plotbunny From Hell, which is still raiding my brain. Apparently, I'm writing a 5x13 novella. Huzzah. Look for Elegance when I finally finish it. It's currently defacing my frontal lobe, so it shouldn't take too very long. Well, for me.

READER RESPONSES:

**Kaaera**: I hope the potential for hilarity was slightly realized this time…ack. Stupid paper-voice. Thanks for reviewing, as always!

**ms trick**: Awww, I'm glad my updating makes you happy. Sorry it comes so sporadically. (guilty grin.)

**serena429**: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!

**kidishcaresh**: I think everyone wants Duo to blow up their school. I sure did. Then again, I'm a pyromaniac, so that's no surprise. Thanks for reviewing!

**Cerulean Waters**: How'd I come up with the idea of a 52.1 percent? Well, it seemed like a competitive goal for 'em, and it's (obviously) their numbers squished together. Plus I just get really bored and think about stupid stuff like that at random.

**Avel**: AHHHHH! (Explodes in envy at thought of seeing My Chemical Romance in concert) You lucky thing you!

**Cardcaptor Soldier**: Oh NO! My tedious writing killed someone AGAIN! (pulls out the shock paddles). Sorry!

**Aki-Arau**: …Hah. Daily updates. That's funny. Thanks very much for reviewing! I'm glad you like it!

**gods sent angel**: Awww, you're so spectacular to me. How true, anime really IS a lifestyle. And tulips and daffodils are loving friendship and blossoming romance/early love. Thanks for reviewing, as always! I love hearing what you think/have to say/anything from you.

**BrokenChains**: Heh. I don't think I've ever "updated soon". Sorry 'bout that. But thank you for reviewing! Glad you like it, even though the chapters are so short.

**bem**: (shakes head) I know Quatre isn't a 'sissy', or pathetic in any way. He's just not fighting. He was raised by a pacifist, remember? (shrug) But anyway, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

**AzureSkies**: Thanks so much! Sorry I don't update very quickly.

**Yvonne**: Why yes, you are crazy. Uh…yeah. Thanks for reviewing?

**ravel queen**: OH the temptation to put a lemon up. You have NO idea. I'm probably going to be putting that up on a different website, but…yeah. There's probably gonna be one. And I'm dying to write it. So just wait. You'll enjoy it…hopefully.

**anime goddess**: Aww, thanks! I hate vermin too. Rats, mice, and prairie dogs. Ugh.

**Clown-Maiden**: Thanks! Glad you like it!

**Meiran Chang**: First off, I know Quatre isn't a wimp. He was just raised by pacifists, and he only attacks those who he's told to, and pre-end-of-war, they were commanded to not bring attention to them, hence a lack of retaliation. But, more importantly, thank you very much for enjoying my fic. I'm glad you like it!


	5. If You Ever Felt Anxious

A/N: Am I an update bandit or WHAT! Prodigy yesterday, Chemical Romance today…I'm so proud of myself! (beams)

The school IS "St. Francis Academy". I get little things in stories mixed up sometimes; sorry 'bout that.

Joe Sullivan is quite possibly my favorite GW-OC I've ever written, simply because I wish I had his job. And I fully admit to having NO idea how to spell Tallgese, and being too lazy to check. And Quatre is utterly shameless- be forewarned.

Not proofread/ rough draft. Please point out errors and all that; I'll fix 'em soon.

Chemical Romance

Chapter 5

If You Ever Felt Anxious

x---x

Joe Sullivan was a professional slacker, and had been proud of that profession since AC 186. As a fixture in West Rieslingville, New York, he was the idol of practically every pre-teen boy (and quite a few girls, come to think of it), from his unwashed blonde hair to his holey sock-covered feet. Not to mention he owned quite possibly the only ditcher-friendly establishment in the county.

"Slacker's Paradise", it was called. An arcade of mythic proportions. Everything from Pong to Tekken 49.5 could be found within its sacrosanct concrete walls, and you couldn't even get in said sacrosanct concrete walls without passing through he himself, Mr. Joe Sullivan, the world's best professional slacker.

When the Second Wave of the day's truants began to come in (around 1 in the afternoon, after most had snuck out to eat somewhere), he was surprised to see two new faces, and in St. Francis' uniforms too. Immediately he was impressed. He hadn't had a good-for-nothing from that hell-hole since 190, and even then Tony (for indeed, Tony had been his name) had only managed to come once. But for TWO St. Francis students to come? It was unheard of!

Joe Sullivan, slacker extraordinaire, immediately came to the conclusion that these boys weren't just good slackers. They were EXCELLENT, possibly even on their way to his own level of slackerdom.

So, naturally, he let them have three free hours in the arcade, grinned, and even INTRODUCED HIMSELF to them (a privilege only a rare few ever received, as Joe Sullivan, God of Slackers, Patron Deity of Loafing, only deigned to speak to those he considered worth the effort of getting off his lazy ass and doing it).

Of course, Duo and Heero didn't particularly notice any of this. They just figured the grungy freak at the entrance wanted to hook them on his establishment, but they weren't about to complain about three free hours of non-prep school fun.

But, when they spotted eight identical pod-shaped things in the corner of "Slacker's Paradise", they asked the grungy freak (what did he say his name was? Smith? Sampson?), who grinned at them.

"Those, my children, are the MS simulators."

Heero smirked at that bit of information.

"It's relatively new to the establishment- I got 'em when the war started, but didn't install them 'till this whole 'temporary peace' thing got started," he explained further. "Before, they were hooked up to OZ computers and recorded the best of the best for future recruitment." He grinned. "I may be a shameless slacker, but I take care of my kiddies."

"Those free too?" Heero asked, and Joe nodded, still grinning.

"For you two? EVERYTHING'S free…for three hours."

Heero nodded, and before Duo could say another word the other boy had latched onto his wrist and was dragging him over to the nearest pseudo-cockpit.

Duo snickered, clambering into the seat. "Think your skills are getting rusty, eh Hee-chan?"

"Don't call me Hee-chan," Heero said, head popping up in the bottom-right screen of the display, smirk almost a full-fledged smile.

In the bottom left, Joe's head popped up, grinning and waving to them. "Hey kiddies! You guys think you can figure out how to handle this sort of rig?"

"Hell yes!" Duo grinned.

"Affirmative." Heero was getting back into mission-mode, already examining what the almost comically simplistic design of the cockpits could do. Or, more correctly, what it could be made to do.

"Okay then! Who's picking the environment?"

"He is," they both responded immediately.

Joe just grinned. "Oookaaay, who's older?"

They just stared at him.

"Middle name?"

More staring.

"Uh…" Joe paused. "Height?"

"HA!" Duo said, and immediately pointed at the glaring view screen of Heero. "Two point seven centimeters! Take THAT!" His triumphant indigo eyes snapped back to Joe. "Space. Lots and lots of space."

"With wreckage," Heero added, and Duo nodded. It'd make it more interesting.

"OKAY!" Joe beamed at his two slacker protégés. "The goal's to defeat the most enemy suits. Want a time limit?"

"Put it on the hardest setting," Heero interrupted.

"Jeez, try and make it a bit more obvious why don't you," Duo muttered, but went largely ignored.

"Done! Forty minutes, Legendary difficulty! Pick your suits!"

And then Joe was gone, and the pod seemed to hum to life, door shutting as the options came up on the main screen.

Duo heard Heero snort at the same moment he guffawed.

"Those are NOT 'Scythe's stats!"

"Completely inaccurate," Heero muttered. "An Aires equal to Shenlong?"

"No kidding," Duo muttered, and grinned. "Hey, I dare you to be Tallgese."

"What?"

"Be Tallgese, I dare you!"

Heero snorted. "If you're one of these superpowered Aires, you're on."

The two grinned at each other, and the BOOOMFFFFF of the choosing sound-effect blasted air into the pods, and suddenly it was just like they were in space.

"Man, we really gotta get everyone else over here. This kicks ASS," Duo grinned.

"Hn."

"Why did I know you'd say that?"

"BEGINNNN IN," the overly dramatic deep voice said. "FIVE, FOURRR, THREEE, TWOO, ONE- GO!"

The two blasted into the pseudo-star field, the wreckage of a thousand battles stretching beyond them.

x---x

"-and then Heero was all, 'hn', and I was like, 'what, you want two out of three? It's not my fault you're spoiled by Wing and suck in anything else', and then he kicked my ass the next game, but that was just second-time luck and besides we stretched on for way past the forty minutes on the first game so we didn't get to finish the third game, because otherwise that grungy idiot- Jeff was it?- would have made us pay," Duo said rapidly, the other three staring. "So we're still tied at one-to-one, but seriously, you guys should come next time because that thing kicked ASS even if they got the stats completely wrong."

"It was surprisingly realistic, for an arcade game," Heero conceded, even though the smirk had yet to wipe of his lips from that afternoon. "It would be useful to keep ourselves in practice."

The other four nodded immediately.

And then, Wufei and Quatre just stood up, grabbed Duo, and left for Trowa and Quatre's room. Heero blinked at the door.

"Ignore them," Trowa advised, reading something that looked school-oriented. "Quatre's trying to play match-maker again."

Heero frowned, something nagging at him. "With who?" In his experience, the blonde didn't just TRY something, he did it.

"Does it matter?" Trowa's green eyes finally lifted up to him. "Just be glad you're not involved in this batch of love-letters and rumors. Wufei nearly killed Quatre at the last school for it." A soft smile lit his lips, twisting away just a bit in a moment of private nostalgia. "They both learned from that experience."

"Trowa."

The brunette looked straight at him again. "It's Duo."

"With who?"

Trowa actually rolled his eyes- a testament to his usual resolve. "Despite what you may hear, Quatre and I aren't psychically linked, just intuitive. He knows not to tell me that sort of stuff." He turned back to his book. "Your guess is just as good as any I might have."

Glaring, Heero stomped towards the door.

"Don't hurt anyone," Trowa called out, and Heero grunted some sort of answer as the door slammed behind him.

And when it had stopped quivering, Trowa smiled as he could hear Heero storming off to the rescue.

x---x

"WHAT!" Duo shrieked.

"It's true," Quatre shrugged, grinning.

Duo slapped a hand over his eyes. "Oh fuck, don't tell me anything like that- ever again." He grimaced. "Great. And now the mental image is just…STUCK THERE."

Wufei snorted. "It wasn't before?"

Duo looked at him incredulously. "You too?"

He smirked, shaking his head. "Worse."

An elegant blonde eyebrow raised, intrigued smile blossoming on Quatre's lips. "Really now?"

To the world's eternal shock, the infamous Chang Wufei, terrifying warrior of the Chang clan, blushed. "MUCH worse."

"I don't think I want to know," Duo said, backing away.

"Well, I sure do," Quatre beamed, aqua eyes intent on Wufei. "Who was it?"

Wufei cleared his throat. "It's someone I…respect," he began, obviously stalling for time. "Someone honorable and just and…upstanding…"

"Who IS it, Chang?" Quatre finally demanded.

And that was when a smoldering Heero flung the door open, and managed to whack Duo (who had slowly been crawling towards the door) right in the face with it. Stunned violet eyes just stared at him incredulously for the entire five seconds he remained conscious, and then he slumped to the floor, Heero's equally surprised eyes following the motion.

Quatre and Wufei burst into laughter as Heero glared at them. "What were you doing?"

"You don't want to know-" Wufei began, but was cut off by Quatre's devious smile and a hand being held up, the other hand innocently holding a half-filled teacup.

"If we tell you, you have to participate," he stated- an obvious ultimatum.

Heero frowned, and calculated the risk as he checked over Duo, making sure he'd be okay as soon as he woke up (it looked like a concussion at most, nothing any of them really had a problem dealing with nowadays). Finally, deciding the risk was worth it, Heero nodded, picking Duo off the floor and preparing to set him on the nearby bed.

Quatre grinned. "We were discussing the most…stimulating sexual dreams we've ever had."

Heero turned chalk white.

"My own happened to be an orgy with myself, Trowa, Rashid, and you in a bouncy castle covered in chocolate sauce."

The white began to turn just a bit green as Quatre continued on, like a train utterly determined to wreck itself spectacularly, and as soon as possible.

"And Wufei was just about to say his…?"

Wufei turned crimson, and his eyes clenched shut. "Treize." His whisper must have carried to Tokyo. "In a rowboat."

Quatre beamed at him. "Your turn, Heero!"

He cleared his throat, suddenly VERY conscious of the fact he was basically body-hugging one Duo Maxwell. Even Wufei had recovered, amused eyes watching him.

Dammit, he was Heero Yuy, Gundam Pilot 01. He'd stared down men two- no, THREE times as old as these two. He'd KILLED me three times older. They had said theirs, and if they could do it, Heero Yuy could do it too, God damn it!

Glaring, he snapped out "Duo, in Wing's cockpit. Underwater." He would have thrown Duo onto the bed, but with a potential concussion, that was a bad idea. Instead, he efficiently set him down and stormed back out the door.

Quatre and Wufei looked at each other. Wufei snickered. Quatre grinned.

"Phase one: complete."

x---x

A/N: Seriously, SUCH an update bandit.

I'm being naughty and not doing reader responses, simply because I'm lazy and I SWEAR I'll do 'em next time, since actually I'm gonna go write the next chapter RIGHT NOW because my muse is just tearing through my brain with this fic all of a sudden and I don't want to waste it so YEAH! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!


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